Thaddeus Stevens College continues to expand workforce opportunities

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology’s recent launch of a training location with Esperanza Tec Centro Philadelphia marks more than just the newest location in the Tec Centro Workforce Network on Esperanza’s multi-service campus in Hunting Park, North Philadelphia. 

The workforce training center is the seventh site in the growing statewide network and will provide adult basic education and no-cost career training in skilled trades for unemployed and underemployed adults. The opening of Esperanza Tec Centro Philadelphia is made possible through funding received by the Tec Centro Workforce Network. The funds provided to the network support the opening of new centers, construction, outfitting, and workforce training. 

Based in Lancaster, Thaddeus Stevens College has operated short-term trainings as part of its Workforce and Economic Development Center for approximately a decade and is now expanding those trainings into a new region. 

“We have been talking with everyone from state legislative leaders to community organizers in Philadelphia for a number of years, working on envisioning how an expansion of our mission to offer opportunity to education tied directly to strong career pipelines and affordable, practical, hands-on training could come to life,” Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology President Pedro Rivera said. “To establish partners, we look at their vision and mission and how they serve their community. If those align with ours, we find ways to partner in advancing our missions to our communities. 

“This vision was able to come to life through a strong, organic partnership with two well-known organizations: Esperanza, which operates more than a dozen community-focused nonprofits in North Philadelphia, and the Tec Centro Network, known for its dedication to providing access to a breadth of education to help individuals and families thrive. Married with our dedication to effective training leading directly to open jobs with strong wages, this synergy will benefit individuals, families, employers, and the regional economy as a whole.” 

Rivera said that creating this collaborative, symbiotic relationship with like-minded organizations aligns with the college’s mission to remove barriers to education and transform lives, no matter a person’s background. 

“We were excited to expand our trainings into Philadelphia with the first cohorts of four different academic focus areas (HVAC, plumbing, facility maintenance, and metals fabrication and welding), right in a building operated by Esperanza and integrated into other community supports available right there, from Career Link to other Esperanza offerings,” said Rivera. 

“The best moments of what we do really come at the end of a program cohort. We host a graduation ceremony, and you see all the families, all the graduates in their caps and gowns, and several of the students will speak and share their stories, and it is just a moment to embrace – to hear where they came from, and how excited they are about where they’re going, an opportunity they have because of these organizations behind them: Esperanza, Tec Centro Network, and Thaddeus Stevens College.” 

Construction and final preparations for Esperanza Tec Centro Philadelphia are underway Workforce training programs are expected to begin after the center’s completion this summer. 

Along with its geographic expansion, the college has also expanded its evening programs in Lancaster. 

“As demand for these short-term training programs continues to rise to meet the needs of employers while simultaneously providing upward economic mobility for those who might have been left behind from some of our society’s systems, Thaddeus Stevens College is continuing to provide career pathway options through our Workforce and Economic Development Center,” Rivera said. “This includes expanding our evening offerings, which now include both an HVAC class, a newly-expanded metals fabrication and welding evening class, and we are also offering a new 120-construction apprenticeship readiness program in the evenings in partnership with Central PA Building Trades and the Lancaster Workforce Development Board. The last one is for adults on probation or parole, starting mid-August.” 

The expansions in evening programs allow more adults to seek training, Rivera said, and more trained professionals ready to fill workforce gaps while making a strong wage. 

Rivera addressed the Renewable Energy training program that began last year. 

“As our energy needs continue to grow and shift as a society, our team created a first-of-its-kind six-month renewable energy workforce program with the Workforce Center at Thaddeus Stevens College,” he said. “This training includes teaching students who earn a NABCEP certification, a nationally recognized professional standard. They learn principles around electricity, solar energy, safety, roofing construction, and residential structure anatomy.” 

The program is offered in partnership with Tec Centro and SACA in Lancaster, and Rivera said employers are recruiting these students before they finish the program. 

“They have job offers and a start date sometimes only a few weeks into their training,” he said. “We’ve successfully graduated two full cohorts (two six-month trainings) and have started our third.”